System and method for multi-radio cloud computing for location sensing

ABSTRACT

An apparatus may include a communication interface and a processor circuit. The apparatus may further include a location analyzing module operable on the processor circuit to receive a first set of location information including a first radio information item from a first radio of a first wireless terminal via the communication interface, to scan a second set of location information to identify a second radio information item matching the first radio information item, and to index the second radio information item to a location entry in the second set of location information to determine a refined location for the first wireless terminal. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

BACKGROUND

In the present era, location based services (LBS) are increasinglydeployed in wireless networks that can be accessed by numerous types ofwireless devices, including mobile telephones, smart phones, tabletcomputers, hybrid communication devices, and other devices. The range ofLBSs includes services to identify a location of a person or object,including simply providing a location to the user. Examples of LBSinclude location-based information such as providing the nearest bankingautomatic teller machine (ATM) or the whereabouts of a friend oremployee; parcel tracking; providing advertising directed at potentialcustomers based on the current customer location; personalized weatherservices; and location-based games. LBSs are typically provided via awireless network to which a user of a wireless device may subscribe orconnect to as a casual user. Once connected, the current user locationmay be derived from various types of information.

Common techniques used to determine a wireless device location includeglobal positioning satellites (GPS) locationing and uplink timedifference of arrival (u-TDOA or, simply, TDOA). In systems that employGPS-based locationing, a communications chip within a wireless devicereceives signals from multiple satellites and uses the received signalsto determine location of the wireless device. In TDOA, multiple celltowers, or base stations, receive a signal output by a wireless device.The difference in arrival time of the output signal at the differenttowers is used to calculate the location of the wireless device. Othertechniques include the received signal strength (RSS), which may bemeasured by either a mobile device or the receiving sensor at a fixedbase station. Knowledge of such factors as transmitter output power,cable losses, and antenna gains, as well as the appropriate path lossmodel, facilitates solving equations for the distance between a wirelessdevice and base station. Variations of RSS include WiFi based RSS andwireless wide area network (WWAN)-based RSS.

Although many different technologies are thus useful for supporting LBStype services, the full benefit of harnessing information frommulti-radio terminals for LBS has not yet been realized. Moreover, manywireless terminals may lack certain devices, such as a GPS device, whichmay render the accuracy of locating the wireless terminal less thanoptimal.

It is with respect to these and other considerations that the presentimprovements have been needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a system consistent with the present embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of locationing for a wireless deviceconsistent with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 a depicts details of operation of exemplary elements of a systemconsistent with the present embodiments.

FIG. 3 b depicts details of computing server consistent with variousembodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts details of further operations of the system of FIG. 3consistent with various embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts an example of a location database that may be used todetermine location information for a requesting wireless device.

FIG. 6 depicts another example of a location database that may be usedto determine location information according to other embodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts details of further operations of the system of FIG. 3consistent with additional embodiments.

FIG. 8 depicts one exemplary logic flow.

FIG. 9 depicts a further exemplary logic flow.

FIG. 10 depicts another exemplary logic flow.

FIG. 11 depicts an embodiment of a computing system.

FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a computing architecture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are related to enhancement of locationing of awireless device (or “wireless terminal”), in particular, a portablewireless device. In some embodiments the wireless terminal may includemultiple radios, while in other embodiments the wireless terminal mayinclude a single radio device to be used for locationing. The term“locationing” as used herein refers to the process of finding thelocation (geographical position) of a device whose whereabouts isgenerally unknown or subject to change. In a typical scenario consistentwith the present embodiments, the wireless terminal may be a portabledevice, such as a smart phone, personal digital assistant, mobile phone,or tablet computing device.

The wireless terminal may be registered with a network that is operableto provide LBS to the wireless terminal. In various embodiments, thewireless terminal may send a request for LBS, which may be accompaniedwith at least one item of information indicating the current location(the term “position” or “location” may be used herein interchangeablyunless otherwise indicated) of the wireless terminal requesting. Forinstance, the wireless terminal may forward RSS information (RSSI) thatprovides the basis to estimate the location of the wireless terminal. Inturn, consistent with the present embodiments, an operator receiving therequest may use the location information received from the wirelessterminal to calculate a refined location of the wireless terminal andreturn the refined location to the wireless terminal. In variousembodiments, the refined location may further serve as the basis toprovide better LBS to the user of the wireless terminal.

In various embodiments, the refined location for a wireless terminal maybe calculated using network resources, including a pre-existing databaseof location information relevant to the location indicia received fromthe requesting wireless terminal. The pre-existing database may includemultiple location data for each of multiple locations in a geographicalregion covered by an operator. As detailed below, such location data maybe gathered by the network from multiple wireless terminals, stored,correlated, and updated, to provide the refined location to therequesting wireless terminal. In various embodiments, a network “cloud”may be harnessed to provide a rapid real-time refined location. Thenetwork cloud may employ one or more servers to store a database oflocation data and perform calculations to determine the refined locationfor a requesting wireless terminal. As illustrated below, an advantageafforded by the present embodiments is that a requesting wirelessterminal need not itself have multiple radio devices in order to beprovided with accurate and timely LBS services.

FIG. 1 depicts a system 100 consistent with the present embodiments. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, a wireless terminal 102 may interact with variousradio resources in the system 100. In various embodiments, the radioresources of the system 100 may be implemented using a wireless localarea network (WLAN)-based technology, including WiFi (802.11);Bluetooth; wireless USB; and other known technologies. Some embodimentsmay additionally be implemented with a radio technology such as globalsystem for mobile communication (GSM), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802-20,evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), 3GPP LTE, LTE-A, etc. IEEE 802.16m is anevolution of IEEE 802.16e, and provides backward compatibility with anIEEE 802.16-based system. The UTRA is a component of universal mobiletelecommunication system (UMTS), which is a successor technology to GSM.3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) is apart of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using the E-UTRA. LTE-advance (LTE-A)is an evolution of the 3GPP LTE. The term “GSM,” as used hereinafterwith respect to a mobile device or network, may generally refer to adevice or network that involves GSM, or a successor technology, such as3GPP LTE.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the system 100 may include one or morewireless local area network (WLAN) access points (AP), such as WLAN APs102, 104, 106. In various embodiments, these APs may be used to providepositioning information regarding a current position of the wirelessterminal 102. For example, at a first instance, the RSS may be detectedat the wireless terminal 102 from one or more of the WLAN APs 102, 104,and 106. This RSS information may then be collected and reported by thewireless terminal 102 to facilitate calculation of a refined location ofthe wireless terminal 102 at the given instance, which may be used toprovide improved LBS to the wireless terminal 102. After the initialinstance, the wireless terminal 102 may travel in a manner that changesthe distance between the wireless terminal 102 and WLAN APs 102, 104,and 106. New RSS information may then be collected and reported by thewireless terminal 102 to facilitate calculation of a refined location ofthe wireless terminal 102 at a second instance, which may be used toprovide improved update LBS to the wireless terminal 102, and so forth.

The system 100 also includes multiple wireless base stations, or WWANtowers, 110, 112, 114. In various embodiments, these WWAN towers mayalso be employed to provide positioning information regarding a currentposition of the wireless terminal 102. For example, at a first instance,the TDOA may be detected at the wireless terminal 102 using the WWANtowers 110, 112, and 114. This TDOA information may then be collectedand reported by the wireless terminal 102 to facilitate calculation of arefined location of the wireless terminal 102 at the first instance,which may be used to provide improved LBS to the wireless terminal 102.After the initial instance, the wireless terminal 102 may changelocation in a manner that changes the distances between the wirelessterminal 102 and WWAN towers 110, 112, and 114. New TDOA information maythen be collected and reported by the wireless terminal 102 tofacilitate calculation of a refined location of the wireless terminal102 at a second instance, which may be used to provide improved updateLBS to the wireless terminal 102, and so forth.

The system 100 further may include GPS satellites 116 (shown forsimplicity as a single object). In various embodiments, these GPSsatellites may return GPS calculations of a current position of thewireless terminal 102 at any given instance. This GPS information maythen be collected and reported by the wireless terminal 102 tofacilitate calculation of a refined location of the wireless terminal102 at the given instance, which may also be used to provide improvedLBS to the wireless terminal 102.

Consistent with various embodiments, the system 100 may processinformation received from a wireless terminal 102 for various purposes.As illustrated, the wireless terminal 102 may be coupled over a wirelesslink 120 to a radio access network 122, which may form part of anoperator's network (not separately shown) that provides LBS to the userof wireless terminal 102. It is to be noted that some of theaforementioned components of system 100, such as WWAN towers 110, 112,114 may form part of the radio access network 122. The wireless terminal102 may provide location information in a radio location informationmessage 124 sent over the wireless link 120 to the radio access network122. As detailed below, location information provided by a wirelessterminal, such as the radio location information message 124 may be usedfor various purposes by the system 100. In one example, the radiolocation information message may be forwarded for processing by theoperator's network, which may return LBS information including a refinedlocation information message 126. In some embodiments, this refinedlocation information message 126 may include LBS that is based upon arefined determination of the location of wireless terminal 102. Infurther embodiments, location information in the radio locationinformation message 124 may be forwarded for storage in a database ofsystem 100. This may be useful for the system 100 to improve accuracy ofdetermining location of wireless terminals as discussed below.

As illustrated, the system 100 may include a network, termed a radioinformation computing cloud 130, which may be a data network that linksmultiple devices for storing location data and/or computing locationinformation. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the radio information computingcloud 130 may include multiple servers 132, 134, 136, 138, which arelinked through a communication link 140, which may be any combination ofwired/wireless links. In some embodiments, one or more of the serversfrom the radio information computing cloud 130 may perform calculationsto determine a refined location in real-time of a wireless terminal,such as wireless terminal 102. The calculations may be based in part oninformation received in the radio location information message 124, aswell as other information, such as information pre-stored in a databasethat contains location information related to the present location ofthe wireless terminal 102. In various embodiments, the databasecontaining pre-stored location information may be part of a server 132,134, 136, 138, or may be located in a separate storage device (notshown).

In one example, the wireless terminal 102 may send a request for LBS,which may contain, be contained within, or be sent together with theradio information location message 124. As detailed below, the radiolocation information message 124 may contain location information forwireless terminal 102 that is not as accurate as desired. For example,the location information received in radio information message 124 maynot be sufficiently accurate to reliably provide the wireless terminal102 with requested LBS, such as a location of a nearest automatic tellermachine (ATM). In one scenario, a user may be in a crowded downtown areain which it may be desirable that the user's position is known withinabout 10 meters, for example, so that ATM locationing can be providedwith a desired accuracy. If the information in radio locationinformation message 124 does not meet such accuracy, the radioinformation computing cloud 120 may determine a refined location of thewireless terminal 102 in order to provide a more accurate LBS response.The determination of a refined location of wireless terminal 102 may bebased on comparing location information contained in the radioinformation location message 124 to pre-stored information in the radioinformation computing cloud 130. This pre-stored information may includelocation information based upon multiple radio sources, such as GPSinformation, WWLAN RSSI, WLAN RSSI, TDOA information, and/or other radioinformation that is collected prior to the receipt of radio locationinformation message 124. The term “radio information” as used herein,generally refers to items including the type of radio parameters such asthe aforementioned radio parameters (GPS information, WWLAN RSSI, WLANRSSI, TDOA) as well as the measured or estimated value of the radioparameter. The term “location information” refers to information thatmay include radio information, but also refers to the measured orcalculated location that may be associated with radio information. Oncethe refined location for wireless terminal 102 is determined, thisinformation may be returned in real time as a refined locationinformation message 126, which may contain, be contained within, or bepart of the requested LBS, such as a request for an ATM location.

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of locationing for a wireless terminalconsistent with various embodiments that illustrates how a wirelessterminal requesting LBS can harness previous location data received frommultiple radio sources. In the scenario depicted in FIG. 2, during afirst period of time, a first wireless terminal 202 may be located in aregion that allows the wireless terminal 202 to access multiplecomponents of system 100, such as the WWAN towers 110, 112, 114, WLANAPs 104, 106, 108, and the GPS satellites 116. As depicted, the firstwireless terminal 202 may contain multiple radio transceivers. Forexample, the first wireless terminal 202 may be a phone or othercommunication device that includes a GPS transceiver and a GSMtransceiver (not shown),

In one example, the first wireless terminal 202 may move along a firstpath 204 that takes the first wireless terminal 202 through ageographical area 206 that is within the communication range of WWANtowers 110, 112, and 114, which may form part of a GSM network. Thegeographical area 206 may also be within a communication range of GPSsatellites 116. Accordingly, when the first wireless terminal 202travels through geographical area 206, measurements of the position offirst wireless terminal 202 may be performed using the WWAN towers110-114, or GPS satellites 116. For example, a user of first wirelessterminal 202 may desire an LBS-based service, such as locating a nearestATM. The user may be stationary or may be traveling in a vehicle, forexample. Consequently, the user may invoke an application or process(not separately shown) running on first wireless terminal 202, which maytrigger a GSM transceiver within first wireless terminal 202 to performa TDOA measurement using the WWAN towers, 110, 112, and 114. Based onthe TDOA measurements, location information for the first wirelessterminal 202 can be determined at various points along first path 204,such as points that lie within the geographic area 206. In addition tothe TDOA measurements, GPS measurements using a GPS transceiver may beperformed while the first wireless terminal 202 travels withingeographical area 206. For example, in conjunction with an LBS requestfor ATM locationing, the first wireless terminal 202 may trigger bothTDOA and GPS measurements, which then each may be performed at one ormore points along the path 204. Accordingly, data may be collected at aseries of point along the path 204 that includes both TDOA and GPSinformation at the point in question.

Once taken, the TDOA and GPS measurements for first wireless terminal202 may be forwarded as a location information message(s) to radioinformation computing cloud 130. This location information may then beused by the system 100 to provide accurate LBS, such as ATM locationsproximate the first wireless terminal 202 while located withingeographic region 206.

Consistent with various embodiments, such multi-radio measurements oflocation information for first wireless terminal 202 may also be storedin the system 100. This information may be used to create or enhance alocation database that may provide a map of radio data determined bymultiple radio techniques as a function of location. In one example, alocation database may provide a data structure that corresponds to atwo-dimensional matrix of locations. In particular, the data structuremay include multiple entries corresponding to various locations withinthe two dimensional matrix of locations, which may be various locationswithin geographic region 206. For example, certain entries in thelocation database may include items of radio information, such as TDOAmeasurement data, RSSI measurement data, or other radio data. Thedetermination of the location values may itself be based on a techniquejudged to provide a most accurate location, such as GPS in some cases.

Continuing with the example of FIG. 2, at an instance in time subsequentto that in which first wireless terminal 202 traces the first path 204,a second wireless terminal 208 may enter a geographical area serviced bysystem 100. In particular, the second wireless terminal 208 may travelalong a second path 210, which intersects with the geographical area206. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the second wireless terminal 208 may be aGSM-capable phone that does not include a GPS transceiver. The user mayregister second wireless terminal 208 with the system 100 so that theuser may access services, such as voice and/or LBS information providedby system 100. In particular, a user of the second wireless terminal 208may desire a specific LBS, such as ATM locationing. While travelingthrough the geographical area 206, the user may therefore invoke alocationing application, which triggers TDOA measurements to beperformed by system 100 using the WWAN towers 110, 112, and 114 asdescribed above. Once the TDOA measurements are performed, thisinformation may be forwarded to the radio information computing cloud130.

Consistent with the present embodiments, the system 100 may providefeedback to the second wireless terminal 208 that includes a refinedlocation information message, as also discussed above. The refinedlocation information message may contain GSM information thatcorresponds to the TDOA measurements forwarded to system 100 by thesecond wireless terminal 208. Referring once more to FIG. 1, in oneexample, the radio information computing cloud 130 may compare TDOAinformation previously stored in its database to the TDOA measurementsjust received from the second wireless terminal 208. As noted, such adatabase may include a data structure or map in which multiple locationswithin a matrix of locations each include one or more items or radioinformation, such as a TDOA, RSSI, or other radio measurement. In oneexample of a data structure, multiple locations within the geographicalarea 206 are each associated with a respective TDOA measurement value,where each location value, that is, the two-dimensional coordinate ofthe location, is determined based upon GPS measurements. The stored TDOAmeasurement values corresponding to the multiple locations ingeographical area 206 may based upon the aforementioned radiomeasurements taken by first wireless terminal 202 and/or other wirelessterminals that travel within the geographical area 206.

The radio information computing cloud 130 may therefore interrogate adatabase having entries corresponding to the geographical area 206 toidentify a TDOA measurement having a measurement value thatsubstantially matches the measurement received from second wirelessterminal 208. The term “substantially matches” may refer to an exactmatch when a value of a database entry, such as a TDOA value, isidentical to the measurement value. The term “substantially match” mayalso refer to a case in which a value of an entry in a database iscloser to the measurement value than that of any other values of otherentries of the database. Thus, a substantial match may refer to adatabase value that is an identical match or a value that most closelymatches that of the measurement received from a wireless terminal whenno identical match to the measurement value exists in the database.After identifying the TDOA entry in its database that provides theclosest TDOA match, the radio information computing cloud 130 maycorrelate the TDOA entry to its associated location in the database,which may be determined by GPS measurement. The radio informationcomputing cloud 130 may then return the GPS-based location to the secondwireless terminal 208. The GPS information may also be used to providethe most accurate ATM locationing for second wireless terminal 208.

In the above manner, a wireless terminal that lacks certain locationingcapability, such as GPS capability, may nevertheless be effectivelyprovided with such capability by communicating with the system 100. Inaddition, databases within the system 100 may be constantly improved bycollecting single and multiple radio information, as illustrated in FIG.2.

FIG. 3 a depicts details of operation of exemplary elements of a system300 consistent with the present embodiments. The scenario illustrated inFIG. 3 generally depicts a circumstance in which radio informationcreated by a multi-radio wireless terminal is reported to a network,which may use the radio information to create or enhance a locationdatabase and thereby improve locationing capability. It is to be notedthat the collecting network may or may not return locationinginformation to the reporting multi-radio device after receiving theradio information. As illustrated in FIG. 3 a, when a multi-radioterminal (device) 302 is within a communications range of radio sources104-116, such as GPS satellites, WWAN towers, and WiFi APs, themulti-radio terminal may measure radio signals corresponding to thevarious radio capabilities of the multi-radio terminal 302. Thesemeasured radio signals may be collected as a packet of information 304,which is then forwarded by the multi-radio terminal 302 as a report 306to a network. In some embodiments, the radio signal informationcollection can be done at an application level, or may be performed inprovisioned firmware by carriers.

In some embodiments, the multi-radio terminal 302 may wirelesslytransmit the report 306 over a data link to a WWAN tower (via a 3G or 4Glink) or WLAN access point (via a WiFi link, for example). The receivingWWAN or WLAN entity may be linked to a data network of a provider thatincludes a backend support server 308, which receives the report 306 toperform initial processing tasks 310 that are based upon the radioinformation contained in the report 306. For example, the processingtasks 310 may include quick storing of the received radio information bythe backend support server 308 for subsequent offline processing by acloud server.

In some embodiments, initial processing tasks 310 may also includepreparing an alert that new location data is available for offlineprocessing. Subsequently, a message 312 may be sent to a backend cloudcomputing server 314 that includes an alert of new location informationfor offline processing and may also contain the new locationinformation. Consistent with the present embodiments, the backend cloudcomputing server 314 may be arranged to perform various tasks includingprocessing of new location information received from a wirelessterminal, storing location information, and providing locationinformation to a requesting device. Although depicted as separateentities in the figures, in some embodiments the backend support server308 and backend cloud computing server 314 may be the same server.

FIG. 3 b depicts details of backend cloud computing server 314consistent with various embodiments. The backend cloud computing server314 may include a communication interface 320, which may be coupled tothe backend support server 308 and to a location database 322. Thebackend cloud computing server 314 may include a processor 324 coupledto the communication interface 320, as well as a location informationprocessing module 326 and location analyzing module 328, whose operationis detailed with respect to the FIGs. to follow. In brief, the locationinformation processing module 326 may include a response processingmodule 330 and location information storage module 332. The responseprocessing module 330 may determine the nature of an incoming messagecontaining location information, and may determine appropriate actionsto perform, such as whether to analyze and/or store new locationinformation, and whether to provide location information in response toan incoming message. For example, if the incoming message containinglocation information is associated with a request for locationinformation, the response processing module 330 may provide a refinedlocation for return to the requesting wireless terminal. On the otherhand, if the incoming message containing location information is notassociated with a request for location information, the responseprocessing module 330 may determine that the location information is tobe stored. The response processing module 330 may also determine whetheran incoming message includes a request for location based services. IfLBS is to be provided in response to the incoming message, the responseprocessing module may retrieve the appropriate LBS based upon adetermination of the location of a requesting wireless terminal, asdetailed below.

The location information storage module 332 may perform such tasks asstoring information to the location database 322, which may involvedetermining a position within the location database 322 to storelocation information. The location information storage module 332 mayalso retrieve information from the location database 322, for example,in response to an incoming request, as detailed below.

The location analyzing module 328 may include a location estimatingmodule 334 and accuracy analyzing module 336. In the presentembodiments, the operation of a location estimating module involvesestimating the location of a wireless terminal based upon various itemsof location information and is further discussed with respect to FIGS. 3a-10 and appurtenant text to follow. The accuracy analyzing module 336may determine the accuracy of a particular location estimate as also setforth in more detail below.

Returning again to FIG. 3 a, after receiving the new locationinformation from backend support server 308, the backend cloud computingserver 314 may perform various operations 316. These operations mayinclude estimating the location of the reporting device associated withthe radio information which may be received in message 312. Consistentwith various embodiments, the backend cloud computing server 314 mayestimate the location for the received radio information (that is, thelocation of the multi-radio terminal 302) by processing data from theradio of multi-radio terminal 302 that employs the most accuratetechnique for measuring position. For example, the backend cloudcomputing server 314 may inspect the message 312 and determine thatradio information contained therein includes GPS information and WWANRSSI information. The backend cloud computing server 314 may then selectthe GPS information as the most reliable and estimate the location ofthe reporting multi-radio terminal 302 based upon the GPS information.If the message 312 does not include GPS data, the backend cloudcomputing server 314 may select the radio source deemed to provide themost accurate location information from among the multiple radio sourcesfor which data is reported in the message 312, such as, such as WWANRSSI data, WWAN TDOA data or WiFi RSSI data.

In addition to estimating the location of the source of the radioinformation, the backend cloud computing server 314 may determine theaccuracy of the location determination. For example, if the locationdetermination is based upon GPS information, it may be assigned a highdegree of accuracy.

Once the location of a source of radio information is determined(estimated), the values of radio parameters of the received radioinformation, such as WWAN RSSI, WiFi RSSI, WWAN TDOA, and GPS signal maybe stored by the backend cloud computing server and indexed to thedetermined location of the multi-radio terminal 302. Thus, a set ofcorrelated data may be entered into the database including, for each ofmultiple locations, the estimated location and the location accuracy,together with values of radio parameters derived from the radiotechniques used to perform measurements at the estimated location. Ifparameters such as location accuracy and/or radio parameters are alreadypresent in the database for a given location, the new values of theparameters (RSSI, TDOA, etc.) received from the multi-radio terminal 302may be added to pre-existing radio information for that location and/orused to refine the values of the parameters stored for that location.

FIG. 4 depicts details of further operations of the system 300 of FIG. 3consistent with various embodiments. The scenario illustrated in FIG. 4generally depicts a circumstance in which a single-radio device 402seeks location information. The single-radio device 402 may measureradio information and report the radio information to a network, whichmay use the radio information to provide immediate location informationto the single-radio device 402. The radio information may also be usedto enhance a location database and thereby improve locationingcapability of the network. As illustrated in FIG. 4, when thesingle-radio terminal (device) 400 is within a communications range ofradio sources 104-116, such as WWAN towers, and WiFi APs, thesingle-radio terminal 400 may perform a set of tasks 402, includingmeasuring radio signals corresponding to the radio capability of thesingle-radio terminal 400. Typically, this measured radio signal may bea WWAN signal and may be collected as a packet of radio information. Thecollected radio information may be forwarded by the single-radioterminal 400 in a report 404 to a backend support server 308. In thescenario of FIG. 4, the report 404 also includes a request forlocationing information. For example, a user of the multi-radio terminal400 may forward the report 404 to obtain LBS information, such as thelocation of a nearest bookstore.

Upon receiving the report 404, the backend support server 308 mayperform various tasks 406. The backend support server may quick storethe radio information in report 404, and may also prepare a requestmessage to retrieve the locationing information requested by thesingle-radio terminal 400. A locationing request message 408 may then besent to the backend cloud computing server 314. The locationing requestmessage may include or be accompanied by the radio information receivedfrom the single-radio terminal 400.

When the backend cloud computing server 314 receives the locationingrequest message 408, a series of operations 410 may be performed. Thecloud computing server 314 may provide a refined location estimate ofthe single-radio terminal 400 as requested. One component of performingthe refined location estimate may be determining the most reliable radioinformation received from the multi-radio terminal. Thus, since theradio information provided in the request message 408 does not includeGPS information, another source, such as RSSI or TDOA information, maybe used to estimate the location of the single-radio terminal 400. Forexample, a value of WWAN RSSI received in the request message 408 may becompared to WWAN RSSI entries stored entry in a location databasemaintained by the radio information computing cloud the cloud.

FIG. 5 depicts an example of a location database 500 that may be used todetermine location information for a requesting wireless terminal. Thelocation database 500 may be populated by multiple radio measurements,such as those described above with respect to FIGS. 1-3. As illustrated,the location database 500 includes radio information including WWANRSSI, WLAN RSSI, and GPS entries, which are indexed to location entries502 indicative of the locations from which the radio information isretrieved. In other words, each row of database 500 is characterized bya different location entry 502, where each row contains multiple radioinformation items (entries) distributed over multiple columns, in whicheach column represents a different radio parameter. For simplicity, thelocation entries 502 are shown to be the same as the GPS determinedvalues, reflecting the case where GPS information is reported togetherwith other radio information, and is deemed to be a reliable indicationof location.

Consistent with various embodiments, the values of radio parameterslisted in database 500 may represent the average value of a radioparameter or some other measure of central tendency that takes intoaccount multiple individual radio measurements for a given location 502.Thus, one or more of the WWAN RSSI entries 504 may represent the mean ofmultiple measurements for one or more different locations 502. Thesemeasurements may be reported by multiple different wireless terminals,which may be multi-radio devices, as discussed above with respect toFIGS. 3 a, 3 b.

As illustrated in the scenario of FIG. 5, the single-radio wirelessterminal 400 reports a WLAN RSSI value of 77 in a data packet 506, whichmay be included in a request message 408 (see FIG. 4). The backend cloudcomputing server 314 may then employ a location analyzing module (seelocation analyzing module 328) to scan the location database 500 for aWWAN RSSI stored entry providing the best match to the WWAN RSSIreceived in the data packet 506. As illustrated, the location databasecontains a WWAN RSSI entry 508 having a value of 77, which is an exactmatch to the value reported by the single-radio wireless terminal 400.The backend cloud computing server may then retrieve the location entry510 of location database 500 that corresponds to the RSSI entry 508, asshown in FIG. 5. This location entry 510 may then be returned as arefined location estimate to the single-radio terminal 400.

In other embodiments, the backend cloud computing server may performadditional operations to determine a refined location estimate. FIG. 6depicts another example of a location database 600 that may be used todetermine location information according to other embodiments. In thedatabase 600, the WWAN RSSI entries differ slightly from those depictedin FIG. 5. In the scenario of FIG. 6, none of the WWAN RSSI entries 604provides an exact match to the WWAN RSSI value of data packet 502received from the single-radio terminal 400. In this case, thedifference between the WWAN RSSI value of data packet 502 and fourdifferent WWAN RSSI entries (shaded) is four or less. Consistent withthe present embodiments, the backend cloud computing server 314 mayidentify one or more WWAN RSSI entries 604 providing the closest matchto the WWAN RSSI value of data packet 502 in order to determine arefined location estimate. The backend cloud computing server 314 mayemploy any appropriate technique to produce a refined location estimatebased upon the WWAN RSSI entries 604, including interpolation of entriesproviding nearest matches. In one example, as shown in FIG. 6, thebackend cloud computing server 314 may select the four differentlocation entries 602 (hatched) that correspond to the respective fourWWAN RSSI entries providing the closest match to the WWAN RSSI value ofdata packet 502. The refined location estimate may then be calculated byinterpolating the selected location entries to produce a refinedlocation estimate, or may apply another procedure to treat the selectedentries 602 to yield the refined location estimate 606.

The backend cloud computing server 314 may also perform an estimation ofthe accuracy of the refined location estimate and provide this estimatefor return to the single-radio terminal 400. In the example of FIG. 5the location database 500 includes accuracy values 512 corresponding tothe location values 510. In some embodiments, these accuracy values mayserve as the basis for providing estimates of the accuracy of therefined location estimate returned to the single radio terminal 400.

Returning to FIG. 4, a refined location estimate message 412, which mayinclude a refined location estimate and location accuracy, may bereturned from the backend cloud computing server 306 to the backendsupport server 304. The backend support server 308 may in turn send arefined location estimate message 414 to the requesting single-radioterminal 400. The refined location estimate may therefore provide thesingle-radio terminal 400 with more accurate location information thanpossible if only the WWAN capability of the single radio terminal 400were employed to determine location. In various embodiments, the refinedlocation estimate message 414 may include LBS information, such as thelocation of an ATM, bank, store, business, landmark, or other service.In some embodiments, the backend cloud computing server 314 may retrievelocation based service information based upon the calculated refinedlocation estimate. For example, the backend cloud computing server 314may search a service database (not shown), which may be located in anyconvenient part of a cloud computing system, such as radio informationcomputing cloud 130. The appropriate item of LBS information may then beselected based identifying a service location of a requested servicethat is listed in the service database and most closely matches therefined location estimate. For example, in response to a locationrequest message 408 containing a request for ATM location, the backendcloud computing server 314 may identify a closest ATM to the locationspecified by the refined location estimate. The information identifyingthe closest ATM may then be forwarded to the requesting wirelessterminal in the refined location estimate message 414.

FIG. 7 depicts details of further operations of the system 300 of FIG. 3consistent with the present embodiments. The scenario illustrated inFIG. 7 generally depicts a circumstance in which radio informationcreated by a multi-radio wireless terminal 700 is reported to a network,which may use the radio information to provide immediate locationinformation to the multi-radio device. The radio information may also beused to enhance a location database and thereby improve locationingcapability. As illustrated in FIG. 7, when the multi-radio terminal(device) 700 is within a communications range of radio sources 300, suchas GPS satellites, WWAN towers, and WiFi APs, the multi-radio terminalmay perform various tasks 702 such as measuring radio signalscorresponding to the various radio capabilities of the multi-radioterminal 700. These measured radio signals may be collected as a packetof radio information, which is then forwarded by the multi-radioterminal 700 in a report 704 to a backend support server 304. In thescenario of FIG. 7, the report 704 also includes a request forlocationing information. For example, a user of the multi-radio terminal700 may forward the report 704 to obtain LBS information, such as thelocation of a nearest bookstore.

Upon receiving the report 704, the backend support server 308 mayperform various tasks 706. The backend support server may quick storethe radio information in report 704, and may also prepare a requestmessage to retrieve the locationing information requested by themulti-radio terminal 700. A location request message 708 may then besent to the backend cloud computing server 314. The locationing requestmessage may include or be accompanied by the radio information receivedfrom the multi-radio terminal 700.

When the backend cloud computing server 314 receives the locationrequest message 708, a series of operations 710 may be performed. Thebackend cloud computing server 314 may provide a refined estimate of thelocation of the multi-radio terminal 700 as requested. One component ofperforming the refined estimate of location may be determining the mostreliable radio information received from the multi-radio terminal. Thus,if the radio information provided in the location request message 708does not include GPS information, another source, such as RSSI or TDOAinformation, may be used to estimate the location of the multi-radioterminal 700. For example, a value of WWAN RSSI received in the locationrequest message 708 may be matched to a value of a WWAN RSSI storedentry in the database to determine a best match. The backend cloudcomputing server 314 may then scan the database for a GPS-determinedlocation corresponding to the WWAN RSSI stored entry providing the bestmatch to the WWAN RSSI received in the request message 708. Thislocation may then be returned as a refined location estimate to themulti-radio terminal 700.

If the location request message 708 does include GPS information, thebackend cloud computing server 314 may used the GPS information toprovide an initial estimate of the location of multi-radio terminal 700.The backend cloud computing server 314 may use other radio informationreceived in the request message 708 to refine the initial GPS-basedlocation determination. For example, the WWAN RSSI values received inlocation request message 708 may be compared to corresponding WWAN RSSIentries stored in the database for the given location determined fromthe GPS information. If necessary, the backend cloud computing server306 may modify the initial estimate according to how closely the WWANRSSI values match one another. This location may then be returned as arefined location estimate to the multi-radio terminal 700.

The backend cloud computing server 306 may also perform an estimation ofthe accuracy of the refined location estimate and provide this estimatefor return to the multi-radio terminal 700. As illustrated in FIG. 7, arefined location estimate message 712 may be returned from the backendcloud computing server 314 to the backend support server 308. Thebackend support server 308 may in turn send a refined location estimatemessage 714 to the requesting multi-radio terminal 700. The refinedlocation estimate may therefore provide the multi-radio terminal 700with more accurate location information even through the multi-radioterminal 700 may have GPS capability, for example.

Included herein is a set of flow charts representative of exemplarymethodologies for performing novel aspects of the disclosed system andarchitecture. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the oneor more methodologies shown herein, for example, in the form of a flowchart or flow diagram, are shown and described as a series of acts, itis to be understood and appreciated that the methodologies are notlimited by τhe order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance therewith,occur in a different order and/or concurrently with other acts from thatshown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art willunderstand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively berepresented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in astate diagram. Moreover, not all acts illustrated in a methodology maybe required for a novel implementation.

FIG. 8 depicts one exemplary logic flow 800. At block 802, a notice isreceived that new location data is available for processing. At block804, new location information, such as radio information from one ormore radio sources is received. At block 804 a determination is made asto whether the location information includes GPS-based locationinformation. If so, the flow moves to block 808, where the GPS-basedlocation estimate is stored.

If no GPS-based information is included in the location information, theflow moves to block 810. At block 810, location data from most accuratelocation estimation technique is stored as the estimated location.

FIG. 9 depicts another exemplary logic flow 900. At block 902, locationinformation is received from multiple radio sources of a single wirelessterminal positioned at a first location. At block 904, the refinedlocation for the wireless terminal is determined based upon informationfrom the most accurate radio source. At block 906, the location accuracyis determined based upon information from multiple radio sources. Atblock 908, the refined location is stored together with the receivedradio information from multiple radio sources corresponding to the firstlocation. At block 908, the location accuracy of the refined location isstored together with the refined location.

FIG. 10 depicts another exemplary logic flow 1000. At block 1002, newradio information is received from a radio source of a first wirelessterminal at a first location. At block 1004, a request for quicklocation determination is received from the first wireless terminal. Atblock 1006 the new radio information is compared to stored radioinformation in a database. At block 1008 it is determined whether amatch exists between the new radio information and entries in thedatabase. If so, the flow moves to block 1010. At block 1010, a refinedlocation value is selected that corresponds to the radio informationentry in the database whose value matches the new radio information. Ifno match is found at block 1008, the flow moves to block 1012. At block1012, a refined location value is calculated using database radioentries that provide the closest match to the new radio information. Theflow then moves to block 1014, where the refined location value isreturned to the first wireless terminal

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an exemplary system embodiment and inparticular, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a platform 1100, which mayinclude various elements. For instance, FIG. 11 shows that platform(system) 1110 may include a processor/graphics core 1102, achipset/platform control hub (PCH) 1104, an input/output (I/O) device1106, a random access memory (RAM) (such as dynamic RAM (DRAM)) 1108,and a read only memory (ROM) 1110, display electronics 1120, displaybacklight 1122, and various other platform components 1114 (e.g., a fan,a crossflow blower, a heat sink, DTM system, cooling system, housing,vents, and so forth). System 1100 may also include wirelesscommunications chip 616 and graphics device 1118. The embodiments,however, are not limited to these elements.

As shown in FIG. 11, I/O device 1106, RAM 1108, and ROM 1110 are coupledto processor 1102 by way of chipset 1104. Chipset 1104 may be coupled toprocessor 1102 by a bus 1112. Accordingly, bus 1112 may include multiplelines.

Processor 1102 may be a central processing unit comprising one or moreprocessor cores and may include any number of processors having anynumber of processor cores. The processor 1102 may include any type ofprocessing unit, such as, for example, CPU, multi-processing unit, areduced instruction set computer (RISC), a processor that have apipeline, a complex instruction set computer (CISC), digital signalprocessor (DSP), and so forth. In some embodiments, processor 1102 maybe multiple separate processors located on separate integrated circuitchips. In some embodiments processor 1102 may be a processor havingintegrated graphics, while in other embodiments processor 1102 may be agraphics core or cores.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary computing system(architecture) 1200 suitable for implementing various embodiments aspreviously described. As used in this application, the terms “system”and “device” and “component” are intended to refer to a computer-relatedentity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software,software, or software in execution, examples of which are provided bythe exemplary computing architecture 1200. For example, a component canbe, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, a hard disk drive, multiple storage drives (of optical and/ormagnetic storage medium), an object, an executable, a thread ofexecution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both anapplication running on a server and the server can be a component. Oneor more components can reside within a process and/or thread ofexecution, and a component can be localized on one computer and/ordistributed between two or more computers. Further, components may becommunicatively coupled to each other by various types of communicationsmedia to coordinate operations. The coordination may involve theuni-directional or bi-directional exchange of information. For instance,the components may communicate information in the form of signalscommunicated over the communications media. The information can beimplemented as signals allocated to various signal lines. In suchallocations, each message is a signal. Further embodiments, however, mayalternatively employ data messages. Such data messages may be sentacross various connections. Exemplary connections include parallelinterfaces, serial interfaces, and bus interfaces.

In one embodiment, the computing architecture 1200 may comprise or beimplemented as part of an electronic device. Examples of an electronicdevice may include without limitation a mobile device, a personaldigital assistant, a mobile computing device, a smart phone, a cellulartelephone, a handset, a one-way pager, a two-way pager, a messagingdevice, a computer, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a notebook computer, a handheld computer, a tabletcomputer, a server, a server array or server farm, a web server, anetwork server, an Internet server, a work station, a mini-computer, amain frame computer, a supercomputer, a network appliance, a webappliance, a distributed computing system, multiprocessor systems,processor-based systems, consumer electronics, programmable consumerelectronics, television, digital television, set top box, wirelessaccess point, base station, subscriber station, mobile subscribercenter, radio network controller, router, hub, gateway, bridge, switch,machine, or combination thereof. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

The computing architecture 1200 includes various common computingelements, such as one or more processors, co-processors, memory units,chipsets, controllers, peripherals, interfaces, oscillators, timingdevices, video cards, audio cards, multimedia input/output (I/O)components, and so forth. The embodiments, however, are not limited toimplementation by the computing architecture 1200.

As shown in FIG. 12, the computing architecture 1200 comprises aprocessing unit 1204, a system memory 1206 and a system bus 1208. Theprocessing unit 1204 can be any of various commercially availableprocessors. Dual microprocessors and other multi processor architecturesmay also be employed as the processing unit 1204. The system bus 1208provides an interface for system components including, but not limitedto, the system memory 1206 to the processing unit 1204. The system bus1208 can be any of several types of bus structure that may furtherinterconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), aperipheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commerciallyavailable bus architectures.

The computing architecture 1200 may comprise or implement variousarticles of manufacture. An article of manufacture may comprise acomputer-readable storage medium to store various forms of programminglogic. Examples of a computer-readable storage medium may include anytangible media capable of storing electronic data, including volatilememory or non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory,erasable or non-erasable memory, writeable or re-writeable memory, andso forth. Examples of programming logic may include executable computerprogram instructions implemented using any suitable type of code, suchas source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, staticcode, dynamic code, object-oriented code, visual code, and the like.

The system memory 1206 may include various types of computer-readablestorage media in the form of one or more higher speed memory units, suchas read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM(DRAM), Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), staticRAM (SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymermemory such as ferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase changeor ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS)memory, magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitablefor storing information. In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 12,the system memory 1206 can include non-volatile memory 1210 and/orvolatile memory 1212. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can be storedin the non-volatile memory 1210.

The computer 1202 may include various types of computer-readable storagemedia in the form of one or more lower speed memory units, including aninternal hard disk drive (HDD) 1214, a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD)1216 to read from or write to a removable magnetic disk 1218, and anoptical disk drive 1220 to read from or write to a removable opticaldisk 1222 (e.g., a CD-ROM or DVD). The HDD 1214, FDD 1216 and opticaldisk drive 1220 can be connected to the system bus 1208 by a HDDinterface 1224, an FDD interface 1226 and an optical drive interface1228, respectively. The HDD interface 1224 for external driveimplementations can include at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus(USB) and IEEE 1294 interface technologies.

The drives and associated computer-readable media provide volatileand/or nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For example, a number of program modules canbe stored in the drives and memory units 1210, 1212, including anoperating system 1230, one or more application programs 1232, otherprogram modules 1234, and program data 1236.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1202 throughone or more wire/wireless input devices, for example, a keyboard 1238and a pointing device, such as a mouse 1240. Other input devices mayinclude a microphone, an infra-red (IR) remote control, a joystick, agame pad, a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other inputdevices are often connected to the processing unit 1204 through an inputdevice interface 1242 that is coupled to the system bus 1208, but can beconnected by other interfaces such as a parallel port, IEEE 1294 serialport, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, and so forth.

A monitor 1244 or other type of display device is also connected to thesystem bus 1208 via an interface, such as a video adaptor 1246. Inaddition to the monitor 1244, a computer typically includes otherperipheral output devices, such as speakers, printers, and so forth.

The computer 1202 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wire and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer 1248. The remote computer1248 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personalcomputer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer1202, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device1250 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted includewire/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1252 and/orlarger networks, for example, a wide area network (WAN) 1254. Such LANand WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices andcompanies, and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such asintranets, all of which may connect to a global communications network,for example, the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1202 isconnected to the LAN 1252 through a wire and/or wireless communicationnetwork interface or adaptor 1256. The adaptor 1256 can facilitate wireand/or wireless communications to the LAN 1252, which may also include awireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with thewireless functionality of the adaptor 1256.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1202 can includea modem 1258, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN1254, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN1254, such as by way of the Internet. The modem 1258, which can beinternal or external and a wire and/or wireless terminal, connects tothe system bus 1208 via the input device interface 1242. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 1202, orportions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device1250. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areexemplary and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers can be used.

The computer 1202 is operable to communicate with wire and wirelessdevices or entities using the IEEE 802 family of standards, such aswireless devices operatively disposed in wireless communication (e.g.,IEEE 802.11 over-the-air modulation techniques) with, for example, aprinter, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, personal digitalassistant (PDA), communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi (orWireless Fidelity), WiMax, and Bluetooth™ wireless technologies. Thus,the communication can be a predefined structure as with a conventionalnetwork or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11x (a, b, g, n,etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Finetwork can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet,and to wire networks (which use IEEE 802.3-related media and functions).

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “one embodiment”or “an embodiment” along with their derivatives. These terms mean that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Theappearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.Further, some embodiments may be described using the expression“coupled” and “connected” along with their derivatives. These terms arenot necessarily intended as synonyms for each other. For example, someembodiments may be described using the terms “connected” and/or“coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physicalor electrical contact with each other. The term “coupled,” however, mayalso mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

It is emphasized that the Abstract of the Disclosure is provided toallow a reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technicaldisclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen thatvarious features are grouped together in a single embodiment for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is notto be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimedembodiments require more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matterlies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thusthe following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which”are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms“comprising” and “wherein,” respectively. Moreover, the terms “first,”“second,” “third,” and so forth, are used merely as labels, and are notintended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

What has been described above includes examples of the disclosedarchitecture. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components and/or methodologies, but one ofordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinationsand permutations are possible. Accordingly, the novel architecture isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a communicationinterface; a processor circuit; and a location analyzing module operableon the processor circuit to: receive a first set of location informationincluding a first radio information item from a single-radio wirelessterminal via the communication interface, the first radio informationitem to comprise an uplink time difference of arrival (u-TDOA)measurement for the single-radio wireless terminal; scan a locationdatabase to identify a second radio information item matching the firstradio information item, the second radio information item to comprise asecond u-TDOA measurement, the location database comprising one or morelocation entries and identifying, for each location entry, a pluralityof corresponding radio measurements identified based on multi-radiomeasurements received in one or more location information messages fromone or more multi-radio wireless terminals; and index the second radioinformation item to a location entry in the location database todetermine a refined location for the single-radio wireless terminal. 2.The apparatus of claim 1, the location database comprising amultiplicity of radio information including one or more of: a wirelesswide area network (WWAN) received signal strength indicator (RSSI); aWiFi RSSI; and global positioning sensor (GPS) information.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, comprising a response processing module operableon the processor circuit to: determine whether the first set of locationinformation is associated with a request for location information;provide the refined location for return to the single-radio wirelessterminal when the first set of location information is associated with arequest for location information; and provide the first set of locationinformation for storage when not associated with a request for locationinformation.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, the location analyzing moduleoperable on the processor circuit to: calculate an accuracy of therefined location; and provide the calculated accuracy for transmissionto the single-radio wireless terminal.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, thelocation analyzing module operable of the processing circuit to: comparea value of the first radio information item to a value of the secondradio information item; identify a location entry in the locationdatabase corresponding to the second radio information item when anexact match between is found between the first and second radioinformation item; and provide the location entry as the refinedlocation.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, the location analyzing moduleoperable of the processing circuit to: determine an approximate locationvalue based upon one or more radio information entries in the locationdatabase providing a substantial match to the first radio informationitem; and provide the approximate location value as the refinedlocation.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising a response processingmodule operable on the processor circuit to search a service databasefor service locations for a requested service; and select a locationbased service (LBS) item by identifying a service location thatsubstantially matches the refined location estimate; and provide the LBSitem for sending to the single-radio wireless terminal.
 8. The apparatusof claim 1, comprising a magnetic storage device coupled to thecommunication interface to store the location information.
 9. At leastone non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprisinginstructions that, when executed, cause a system to: receive a first setof location information including a first radio information item from asingle-radio wireless terminal, the first radio information item tocomprise an uplink time difference of arrival (u-TDOA) measurement forthe single-radio wireless terminal; scan a location database to identifya second radio information item matching the first radio informationitem, the second radio information item to comprise a second u-TDOAmeasurement, the location database comprising one or more locationentries and identifying, for each location entry, a plurality ofcorresponding radio measurements identified based on multi-radiomeasurements received in one or more location information messages fromone or more multi-radio wireless terminals; and index the second radioinformation item to a location entry in the location database todetermine a refined location for the single-radio wireless terminal. 10.The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 9, comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to:determine whether the first set of location information is associatedwith a request for location information; provide the refined locationfor return to the single-radio wireless terminal when the first set oflocation information is associated with a request for locationinformation; and provide the first set of location information forstorage when not associated with a request for location information. 11.The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 9, comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to:calculate an accuracy of the refined location; and provide thecalculated accuracy for transmission to the single-radio wirelessterminal.
 12. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 9, comprising instructions that when executed cause thesystem to: compare a value of the first radio information item to avalue of the second radio information item; identify a location entry inthe location database corresponding to the second radio information itemwhen an exact match between is found between the first and second radioinformation item; and provide the location entry as the refinedlocation.
 13. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 9, comprising instructions that when executed cause thesystem to: determine an approximate location value based upon one ormore radio information entries in the location database providing asubstantial match to the first radio information item; and provide theapproximate location value as the refined location.
 14. The at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, comprisinginstructions that when executed cause the system to: search a servicedatabase for service locations for a requested service; and select anLBS service item by identifying a service location that substantiallymatches the refined location estimate; and provide the LBS service itemfor sending to the single-radio wireless terminal.
 15. A method,comprising: receiving a first radio information item from a single-radiowireless terminal, the first radio information item to comprise anuplink time difference of arrival (u-TDOA) measurement for thesingle-radio wireless terminal; scanning a location database todetermine a stored radio information item whose value matches that ofthe first radio information item, the second radio information item tocomprise a second u-TDOA measurement, the location database comprisingone or more location entries and identifying, for each location entry, aplurality of corresponding radio measurements identified based onmulti-radio measurements received in one or more location informationmessages from one or more multi-radio wireless terminals; anddetermining a refined location for the single-radio wireless terminalbased on a location entry in the location database corresponding to thestored radio information item.
 16. The method of claim 15, the locationdatabase comprising a multiplicity of radio information including one ormore of: a wireless wide area network (WWAN) received signal strengthindicator (RSSI); a WiFi RSSI; and global positioning sensor (GPS)information.
 17. The method of claim 15, comprising: determining whetherthe first radio information item is accompanied by a request forlocation information; providing the refined location for return to thesingle-radio wireless terminal when the first radio information item isaccompanied by a request for location information; and providing thefirst radio information item for storage when the first radioinformation is not accompanied by a request for location information.18. The method of claim 15, comprising: identifying a location entry inthe location database indexed to the second item of radio informationwhen an exact match is found; and providing the location entry as therefined location.
 19. The method of claim 15, comprising: searching aservice database for service locations for a requested service; andselecting an LBS service item by identifying a service location thatmost closely matches the refined location estimate; and providing theLBS service item for sending to the single-radio wireless terminal.